Today we’re going to concentrate on folks with a Larger Business and what do you do if you have a long term illness or die. Kind of blunt but it is something you’ll need to prepare for.1. Make a will – If you have a larger tutor business you should already have found an attorney you can trust. We have a family friend whom we trust, he gives us a break on the costs, but more importantly he knows what he’s doing. As you’re choosing a lawyer you’ll want to make sure they know business law (not just a divorce attorney). You’ll want to explain to them what you want done with your business if you pass away. You’ll want to make sure you have a family member with you.

Before you speak with the attorney, you’ll want to talk with your family. Would they want to run your business, could your business run itself without you (it should be able to), do they want you to sell it? Those decisions will help you decide what you want to put in the will.

2. Life Insurance – you will want to make sure you have enough life insurance to pay the bills you have in your business off (not day to day bills but the big bills – like equipment). Funerals are expensive. You can find a good calculator here – http://www.lifehappens.org/life-insurance-needs-calculator/

You’ll want to put these papers in a safety deposit box. MOST IMPORTANTLY you’ll want to tell some people where they are and how they would access them. You will want to make sure your #1 employee knows where they are as well and you’ll want to explain to them exactly how things are done.

Long term illness

So what happens if you have a long term illness. Again this is something you’ll want to first talk with your family about. Many people have grown their tutor business into something their family depends on to pay the bills (not just to supplement their income).

It’s hard to tell you exactly what to do because each situation is different, and yours will be to. I’ll use a real world example of one of our tutor students.

She talked with her family and her employee. Her employee was both willing and able to continue things… and so she did – thru surgery and the chemo. A year later she was ready to return and so she did. The business grew by a couple of employees while she was away.

Starting on the 2nd we’ll begin a series that gives you some ideas on what to do in preparation of this school year. We should have some new tips on Tuesdays and Thursdays.